Mirror reflective element assembly
First Claim
1. A mirror assembly for a vehicle, said mirror assembly comprising:
- a mirror element comprising at least one substrate having a forward surface facing towards a viewer of the mirror assembly and a rearward surface facing away from a viewer of the mirror assembly, said mirror element comprising at least one substantially reflective metallic layer sandwiched between a respective pair of substantially transparent non-metallic layers, each of said substantially transparent non-metallic layers and said substantially reflective metallic layer having a selected refractive index and a selected physical thickness such that said mirror element is selectively spectrally tuned to substantially transmit at least one preselected spectral band of radiant energy therethrough while substantially reflecting other radiant energy; and
a radiant energy emitting element at or near said rearward surface of said at least one substrate, said radiant energy emitting element being operable to emit radiant energy towards said rearward surface and through said mirror element, said radiant energy emitting element being operable to emit radiant energy with a peak intensity within said at least one preselected spectral band.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror element having at least one substrate that has a forward surface and a rearward surface. The mirror element comprises at least one substantially reflective metallic layer sandwiched between a respective pair of substantially transparent non-metallic layers. Each of the substantially transparent non-metallic layers and the substantially reflective metallic layer have a selected refractive index and a selected physical thickness such that the reflective element is selectively spectrally tuned to substantially transmit at least one preselected spectral band of radiant energy therethrough while substantially reflecting other radiant energy. A radiant energy emitting element is disposed at or near the rearward surface of the at least one substrate. The radiant energy emitting element is configured to emit radiant energy with a peak intensity within the at least one preselected spectral band.
64 Citations
50 Claims
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1. A mirror assembly for a vehicle, said mirror assembly comprising:
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a mirror element comprising at least one substrate having a forward surface facing towards a viewer of the mirror assembly and a rearward surface facing away from a viewer of the mirror assembly, said mirror element comprising at least one substantially reflective metallic layer sandwiched between a respective pair of substantially transparent non-metallic layers, each of said substantially transparent non-metallic layers and said substantially reflective metallic layer having a selected refractive index and a selected physical thickness such that said mirror element is selectively spectrally tuned to substantially transmit at least one preselected spectral band of radiant energy therethrough while substantially reflecting other radiant energy; and
a radiant energy emitting element at or near said rearward surface of said at least one substrate, said radiant energy emitting element being operable to emit radiant energy towards said rearward surface and through said mirror element, said radiant energy emitting element being operable to emit radiant energy with a peak intensity within said at least one preselected spectral band. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An electrochromic mirror assembly for a vehicle, said mirror assembly comprising:
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an electrochromic mirror element comprising a first substrate having first and second surfaces and a second substrate having third and fourth surfaces, said first and second substrates being arranged so that said second surface opposes said third surface with an electrochromic medium disposed therebetween;
said third surface of said second substrate comprising a transflective reflector comprising a first substantially transparent semi-conductive non-metallic layer contacting the electrochromic medium, a second substantially transparent semi-conductive non-metallic layer, and a substantially reflecting metallic conductive layer sandwiched between said first and second substantially transparent semi-conductive non-metallic layers, wherein when said mirror element is viewed from outside said first surface, said mirror element is substantially spectrally untinted when no voltage is applied across said electrochromic medium, said mirror element being at least partially spectrally selective in transmission and exhibiting a spectrally selective transmission characteristic, said spectrally selective transmission characteristic being established by the refractive indices and physical thicknesses of said first and second substantially transparent semi-conductive non-metallic layers and said substantially reflective metallic conductive layer; and
a light emitting element disposed at said fourth surface of said second substrate and operable to emit light having an emitted spectral characteristic through said mirror element, wherein said transflective reflector is configured to exhibit a spectrally selective transmission characteristic so as to substantially transmit light having a spectral band in regions at or near said emitted spectral characteristic and to substantially reflect other light having a spectral band outside of said regions. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An electrochromic mirror assembly for a vehicle, said mirror assembly comprising:
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an electrochromic mirror element comprising a first substrate having first and second surfaces and a second substrate having third and fourth surfaces, said first and second substrates being arranged so that said second surface opposes said third surface with an electrochromic medium disposed therebetween;
said third surface of said second substrate comprising at least one conductive metallic layer and at least one transparent, at least partially conductive layer, wherein said layers define first and second regions of said transflective reflector, said first region having a first reflectivity and a first transmissivity and said second region having a second reflectivity and a second transmissivity, said second transmissivity being greater than said first transmissivity; and
a display element positioned at said fourth surface of said second substrate and operable to transmit light through said second region of said transflective reflector. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A mirror assembly for a vehicle, said mirror assembly comprising:
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a mirror element comprising a substrate having a forward surface facing towards a viewer of the mirror assembly and a rearward surface facing away from a viewer of the mirror assembly, said mirror element comprising at least one substantially reflective metallic layer sandwiched between a respective pair of substantially transparent non-metallic layers disposed at said rearward surface of said substrate, each of said substantially transparent non-metallic layers and said substantially reflective metallic layer having a selected refractive index and a selected physical thickness such that said mirror element is selectively spectrally tuned to substantially transmit at least one preselected spectral band of radiant energy therethrough while substantially reflecting other radiant energy; and
a radiant energy emitting element at or near said rearward surface of said substrate, said radiant energy emitting element being operable to emit radiant energy towards said rearward surface and through said mirror element, said radiant energy emitting element being operable to emit radiant energy with a peak intensity within said at least one preselected spectral band. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification